Drs. Danielle Zacherl and Jennifer Burnaford both hosted undergraduate students this summer as part of the Southern California Ecosystems Research Program run by Cal State Fullerton. In a three-week boot camp, students interested in pursuing careers in ecology and environmental biology run intensive short-term research projects in local ecosystems. Participating students also receive up to two years of faculty mentorship as they pursue their own research and travel to scientific conferences to present their findings.

Dr. Larry Allen of CSU Northridge recently captured two Giant sea bass in order to study their vocalizations. Legislation passed in 1988 prohibits commercial or recreational fishing for Giant sea bass to protect them from overfishing. Experts say there are likely only 1,000 of these fish left off the coast of California and Baja.

Four scientists from Moss Landing Marine Labs, CSU Monterey Bay and UCSC are studying levels of mercury in West Coast fog. They have determined that West Coast fog contains ten times as much mercury as rainwater.